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Learn about Authentication and Encryption Keys

Authentication and Encryption using Public-Private Key Pairs can be beneficial to almost anyone who uses the internet. Below we will consider some applications and demonstrate how to
use these concepts easily and in practical terms. If you have a spare hour and would like to learn how encryption and authentication work, there is a video presentation at the bottom
of the page which elegantly explains the concepts.

Authentication

Digital signing is a process in which one produces a digital signature of a file using their private key and software such as
Act On File. The produced digital signature is a small data file which is
only dependent on the signed file and the private key used in the process, and cannot be produced in any other way. The digital
signature can only be verified by using the original unmodified data and the public key complement to the private key which was
used to produce it, which is known as authentication. If the signed data or its signature has been modified, or an incorrect public
key is used then the authentication will fail. Act On File is software able to
digitally sign files and authenticate digitally signed files. Note that since private keys must be kept secret at all times, it is not
appropriate to use any kind of online services to digitally sign files.

Encryption

There are two types of Encryption: symmetric and asymmetric. The symmetric encryption takes one password which must be known to both encrypt and decrypt data.
On the other hand, asymmetric encryption uses two passwords called public and private keys for encryption. The public key is used to encrypt data and the private
key is used to decrypt the data and to produce the public key from it. Thus if you publish your public key on your website and keep your private key secret, then
anyone could encrypt data and send it to you so that only you can read it. Act On File is software able to
encrypt and decrypt information using both symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

Safe Online Communication

Online communication is not intrinsically safe. Indeed, there are certain aspects of it that can be dangerous, and in many cases could bring about severe damages,
such as being infected with viruses, system crashes, data loss, identity theft and others. In this article we will examine two common problems faced when communicating
online, before offering a set of simple guidelines that can help prevent any possible danger or losses due to these problems.
Learn how to use Authentication and Encryption for Safe Online Communication

Make Your Website Trusted

There are hundreds of millions of websites on the internet, all competing for attention. How do you make your website stand out from the crowd? In this
article we will examine some problems with trust on the web, and how you can easily make your website trusted and worthwhile in the eyes of their visitors.
Learn how to use Authentication to Make Your Website Trusted

Maintaining Private Keys

Using Public-Private Key encryption and authentication brings many benefits, but has one important requirement which must be observed in order
for them to work. Namely, the private keys must be kept secret so that encrypted data cannot be decrypted by unauthorized entities and the owner
of the private key cannot be impersonated. Learn how to store and maintain Private Keys securely

Encryption and Authentication Explained

In this presentation, we will first discuss the security problems associated with email communication and the internet. Then we will discuss simple
symmetric encryption as a prelude to a wonderfully simple explanation of the concepts of public and private keys for encryption and authentication.
Finally, we will look at how to make our communication and experience on the internet safe and secure, and also how to raise the level of trust in
our websites, businesses or other online activities. (Total playing time 59:30 minutes.)